iShares MSCI Japan ETF Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSEARCA:EWJ)

iShares MSCI Japan ETF (NYSEARCA:EWJ) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock investors bought 20,080 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of 224% compared to the average daily volume of 6,207 put options.

iShares MSCI Japan ETF Stock Down 0.2%

NYSEARCA EWJ opened at $81.00 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $82.56 and its 200 day moving average is $78.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.09 billion, a PE ratio of 14.63 and a beta of 0.68. iShares MSCI Japan ETF has a twelve month low of $59.84 and a twelve month high of $85.31.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of EWJ. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in iShares MSCI Japan ETF by 43.3% in the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 870,532 shares of the exchange traded fund’s stock worth $59,658,000 after buying an additional 263,005 shares during the last quarter. Compound Planning Inc. raised its holdings in shares of iShares MSCI Japan ETF by 26.9% during the first quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 7,234 shares of the exchange traded fund’s stock valued at $496,000 after purchasing an additional 1,534 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in iShares MSCI Japan ETF by 824.1% during the first quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 68,069 shares of the exchange traded fund’s stock valued at $4,667,000 after purchasing an additional 60,703 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in iShares MSCI Japan ETF by 16.5% in the first quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 191,623 shares of the exchange traded fund’s stock worth $13,138,000 after purchasing an additional 27,150 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Comerica Bank boosted its holdings in iShares MSCI Japan ETF by 38.7% in the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 342,008 shares of the exchange traded fund’s stock worth $23,448,000 after purchasing an additional 95,482 shares during the last quarter. 64.60% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About iShares MSCI Japan ETF

iShares MSCI Japan ETF (the fund), formerly Ishares Msci Japan Index Fund, is an exchange-traded fund. The Fund seeks to provide investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of publicly traded securities in the Japanese market, as measured by the MSCI Japan Index (the Index). The Index consists of stocks traded primarily on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. The Fund invests in a representative sample of securities included in the Index that collectively has an investment profile similar to the Index.